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Alien Vs Predator
2004
When audiences caught a glimpse of an alien skull mounted in the trophy cabinet of a Predator in the 1990 film PREDATOR 2, it seemed a franchise was about to be born. Sure enough, comic book artists immediately seized on the possibilities suggested by the brief scene, and a number of skirmishes between the deadly foes were .. Read more
| Starring | Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner, Lance Henriksen |
|---|---|
| Director | Paul W.S. Anderson |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
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Alien Vs Predator
When audiences caught a glimpse of an alien skull mounted in the trophy cabinet of a Predator in the 1990 film PREDATOR 2, it seemed a franchise was about to be born. Sure enough, comic book artists immediately seized on the possibilities suggested by the brief scene, and a number of skirmishes between the deadly foes were played out on the printed page. Fans have had to endure a lengthy wait for a cinematic match-up, but writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson (EVENT HORIZON) has finally delivered the blood-splattered goods in ALIEN VS. PREDATOR. Set in the near future, a team of archaeologists lead by Charles Wiedland (Lance Henriksen, returning for more ALIEN action after appearances in the second and third films) ventures towards an inexplicable hot zone detected in Antarctica. Joined by Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan) and the requisite amount of human fodder for the otherworldly creatures to feast on, Wiedland and his cohorts discover a sizeable underground pyramid. Chaos ensues as they awake the Queen alien from her blissful slumber, causing face-hugging and chest-bursting scenes aplenty. But the ailing crew has a further quandary to grapple with in the shape of some fearsome Predators, who are using the aliens as bait for their offspring to brawl with in an ancient initiation ritual. With the human team trapped in the labyrinth-like pyramid, the battle evolves into a nail-biting three-way tussle between the archaeologists and their extraterrestrial adversaries. Fans of both the ALIEN and PREDATOR movies should find much to satiate their appetites here, and with an ending suggesting further hostilities between the pernicious coupling, this one looks set to run and run.
| Starring | Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner, Lance Henriksen |
|---|---|
| Director | Paul W.S. Anderson |
| Studio | 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 37 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 37 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
| Language | English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | French, Spanish |
| Released | DVD: 07 Mar 2005 Blu-ray: 09 Apr 2007 Production year: 2004 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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Face-huggers, a defrosted Alien queen, rite-of-passage combat and a goofy explanation for the dawn of Man are all elements of director Paul WS Anderson's sometimes inspired melding of two sci-fi horror franchises. An expedition heads for Antarctica after billionaire Lance Henriksen discovers a pyramid under the ice. They find that the interior of the pyramid reconfigures every ten minutes and proves to be the venue for a Predator vs Alien smackdown, with the expedition's crew as the warm-up. The characterisation is nonexistent — Trainspotting's Ewen Bremner, Italian megastar Raoul Bova and 007 regular Colin Salmon exist only to explain the plot and become cocoon fodder. But at least Ripley replacement Sanaa Lathan manages to shine during the thrilling finale. Slime-encrusted face-offs between monster-movie icons are what this guilty pleasure is all about, and that's where Anderson really delivers. The epic spaceship moments and a loony twist ending are a bonus.
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Most helpful member's review
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40 out of 55 people found this review helpful
Enjoyable and Interesting
I am a hard-core fan of both the Alien and the Predator films, so when I found out that hollywood were mixing the two, I desided to be optemistic, afterall, it had already been done with games and books.
The film doesn't follow on with the Alien of the Predator films, and alot of the diologue is stolen from other films (look out for the line from True Romance!), but I did enjoy the film.
The film is about a rich guy (who made the Bishop robot) who finds a pyramid under the ice in antartica. So he gathers a group of people (includeing the guy who played Spud in Trainspotting) and ventures towards the primid. When they get there, they acsidentally unfreeze a queen alien and the predators come down from the stars and, as the title would suggest, a big fight between Aliens and Predators kicks off. Some great bits, includeing an acid-blood spreying Alien.
The creatures are really well done and hold all of their original charatreistics, although the Preators no longer record snippets of conversation.
It is an enjoyable film, and the 'bullet-time' face-hugger leaps were pretty dam cool, and I would give it 3 1/2 stars, but I cant, so I'll just give it 3. -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
The Franchise Frays at the Edges
Despite the slamming other reviewers gave this film, I really enjoyed it - but perhaps only because I fell in love with the lead, Sanaa Lathan. A worthy successor to Sigurney Weaver (or should that be pre-cursor?) she has the advantage of being much prettier - more Jinx than Ripley! But that aside the film stands up well as an adventure/horror film. What it isn't is a patch on the earlier Alien/Predator films, so I suspect many die hard fans will be disappointed. Come to it as 'just another film' and you'll enjoy it.
The standard format applies - Stargate discovered in the Artic, aliens threaten earth and must be resisted, heroine saves the day...oh sorry, that was a different episode, but they're easily confused. Drawing heavily on the history built up by the previous films in this genre - one of the best touches is that Weyland the industrialist has a habit of playing with his pen just as Bishop, an android made in his own image years later, plays with a knife in Aliens - the film works best when it sticks within these rules. Disappointments are the lack of tension created when corners are cut, such as the short time between the face huggers' attacks and the 'birth' of the alien. Why? Doesn't lend to the plot except to get the film moving on faster. A deal more fear in dark corners before the onslaught would have created more tension and time to build the characters. Eg. Weyland - think he's a bad guy? (remembering the 'profit at all costs' ethos of his company in Alien/s). Er. wrong, turns out to be a hero. But we could have empathised more, given more time to see into his character. An opportunity wasted, like so many in this film. And why the Cube-like moving walls? Unnecessary use of special effects, and highly implausible that an ancient civilisation would have bothered to engineer it!
The film is best when it gives us what it promises - the fights between Alien and Predator. It scores on the surprises (won't spoil them for you) and in Sanaa's performance (she's one hot babe) and the interesting closeness that develops with Predator - my enemy's enemy is my friend. And the special effects seem up to the mark. Did you know they brought this film in under the budget of Alien's 3 ? So watch it, enjoy it, but you won't be hiding behind the sofa like you were...until the sequel, now THAT should be worth seeing!! -
News and features
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Alien Vs Predator sequel goes "back to basics"
- 26 Oct 2007
The latest entry into the Alien Vs Predator (AVP) series will be closer to the original Alien movie than its effects-laden predecessor, according to the film's directors. Speaking to USA Today Colin and Greg Strause, the two brothers behind Alien Vs Predator - Requiem, said that they hope to redress the damaging effect of a number of below-par sequels from both the Alien and Predator franchises. In particular, they claim, there is a desire to bring the dark and brooding atmosphere of Ridley... Read more
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When audiences caught a glimpse of an alien skull mounted in the trophy cabinet of a Predator in the 1990 film PREDATOR 2, it seemed a franchise was about to be born. Sure enough, comic book artists ... -
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When audiences caught a glimpse of an alien skull mounted in the trophy cabinet of a Predator in the 1990 film PREDATOR 2, it seemed a franchise was about to be born. Sure enough, comic book artists ... -